CRUM CREEK VIADUCT PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

SWARTHMORE, PA

McCormick Taylor provided public involvement and communications expertise in the creation of a historical brochure to mitigate the loss of the Crum Creek Viaduct, located on SEPTA’s Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line.

PLANNING & COMMUNICATIONS, INFRASTRUCTURE, COMMUNITY, GOVERNMENT

THE CHALLENGE

Constructed in 1895, the Crum Creek Viaduct had reached the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced. The previous viaduct was built with a trestle design that rose over 100 feet above the creek and spanned more than 900 feet across the gap. Considered a 19th century icon of American railroad bridge design and engineering, the viaduct is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

HOW WE HELPED

Since 2012, the McCormick Taylor communications team has worked closely with SEPTA on many public involvement projects throughout the region. As design activities for the new viaduct were transitioning to the construction phase, McCormick Taylor was tasked with developing an extensive communications program, including a public relations campaign and project website. The website includes onsite web cameras that captured ongoing construction activities, as well as a popular time-lapse video of the new replacement span being moved into place.

McCormick Taylor also developed "Historic Viaducts of the Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line: Preserving Our Past and Engineering Our Future" which highlights the historic significance of former Crum Creek Viaduct, as well as three other viaducts along the Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line.

SEPTA expanded McCormick Taylor’s assignment to include the design and fabrication of a sign to be placed along the Leiper-Smedley Trail. Running parallel to the I-476 right-of-way, the trail passes underneath the Crum Creek Viaduct, and connects Yale Road in Swarthmore Borough to Delaware County’s Smedley Trail. The trail sign will inform pedestrians
and bicyclists of the former viaduct’s important history.

RESULTS

Constructed for a 100-year lifespan, the new viaduct is a 735-foot-long steel and concrete structure comprised of five long spans, four piers, and two abutments that replaced the 17 simply-supported steel spans.

SEPTA celebrated the completion of the Crum Creek Viaduct with a bridge plaque unveiling on October 21, 2016. Attendees included SEPTA General Manager Jeff Knueppel, PA Secretary of Transportation Leslie Richards, as well as other elected officials and media.

Sign up for our mailing list to stay connected to our work and our people.